HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-01-16, Antonopulos, Vacation Homes Public Comment
From: Beth Antonopulos [mailto:antonopulos@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, August 01, 2016 11:52 AM
To: Code Compliance <CCompliance@BOZEMAN.NET>
Subject: Code compliance - noise issue
Hello,
I'm writing to log some noise complaints associated with the new VRBO house at 304 W Cleveland. The City Commission was adamant that neighbors needed to log complaints with the
city. Hopefully, this is the right place to make complaints so they will eventually make it to the
commissioners when they are deciding whether to renew this CUP in the R-1 zone that normally
forbids commercial activity and short-term stays.
We are neighbors at 1020 S 3rd Ave, and in the summer we need to leave our front windows and
screen door open to cool down at night. Because of the layout of the Cleveland house's back
porch, our bedroom windows, and the prevailing wind from the west (mostly), we catch the brunt
of noise and smoke from the backyard of the VRBO. While I'm sure other neighbors notice the
noise, it is definitely annoying when the rest of the neighborhood is otherwise silent. Please note that we rarely have other noise issues on our block even with lots of long-term (mostly college)
renters nearby, and I don't think that we are overly sensitive! Our surrounding neighbors
(including next door with an ADU on one side and a duplex close by on the other) often entertain
outside without causing any reason for complaint.
Here are my two specific complaints since the commission approved the CUP. I've copied the
text from the log I've been keeping.
1. 6/26/16 1:05 am - I awoke to loud music playing in the otherwise-silent street. When it didn’t
appear it would stop (five minutes or more went by), I threw on clothes to go investigate. Sure enough, it was coming from the Texas visitors whose trucks had arrived in the last day. Almost
every light in the house was on. As I rounded the corner, the music stopped, the house door
slammed (not closed quietly as would be appropriate), and then it was quiet. I think that
someone had come back to the house in a truck, and was listening to music, oblivious to
neighbors (finishing a smoke?). I went back to bed w/o calling police due to the continued quiet. Took an hour to go back to sleep. BTW, I saw no evidence of a sign to help with calling
the management company. This is the first group of visitors we’ve noticed since the permit was
approved by the commission.
I called the management company the next morning (had to use their emergency number for tenants as the voice mail box was full) to let them know. The woman answering was quite
skeptical saying that they couldn't be making noise as they had a baby and a seven-year-old. I
guess she thought I was making it up. I got the same type of response from Mountain Home's
owner when she tracked me down a few days later to smooth things over. She had talked to the
tenant however, and we didn't have more real problems. On their last night (7/7/16), they stayed up past midnight talking in moderate voices on the back porch. From our bedroom window, we
could hear complete conversations until I turned on a fan to mask the noise partially.
2. 7/31/16 A new group of renters arrived today (only the second group this summer so far as I
can tell). The family was obviously celebrating out on the back porch with a nice dinner.
Around 10 pm I started noticing voices growing louder and less inhibited. By 10:30 pm, I'd had enough. Again, just sitting normally in our living room, I could hear individual conversations
without trouble. I went over and politely asked them to lower their voices or go inside, pointing
out the time and that it was a work night for most in our neighborhood. I'm sure they were
surprised that they were bothering anyone, and they quickly quieted down for the rest of the
evening.
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The big problem here is not each individual incident - it's that they are accumulating rapidly. We
fear that we will have similar, minor-but-annoying issues almost every time new customers arrive to rent the house. I don't think that anyone needs to visit with these latest tenants. I just
want to ensure that we are building an accurate record of the impact this VRBO is having on the
neighborhood.
Feel free to call or email to discuss if you feel it's necessary.
Thank you,
Beth Antonopulos
406 585-9740
1020 S 3rd Ave